Bittersweet Fairytale
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: C.C. is an outcast who fantasizes about her favorite book series and its dashing protagonist Lelouch. What happens when her rather depressing life grants her the wish that she had been wanting in seemingly forever?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I've never watched the anime, but from what people have told me I don't know if I'd like to watch it (not a fan of political stories nor mech fighting), so this is my way of making it up. If this story is well received I will add more chapters in the future.

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The classroom was quiet as a test was going on.

There was a red haired girl in the same room. In fact, she was sitting in front of C.C. Her name was Kallen, C.C.'s best friend.

Kallen always looked out for C.C., knowing that she dozed off in class quite constantly. She didn't want to be mean and tell her friend to put away her fairytale books in class, but she'd usually pass her text messages on her phone. Being in the back of the room had its perks, such as sending text messages when you weren't supposed to.

C.C. put her book, her favorite book that is, down and reached for the cell phone in her hand bag, which was vibrating like crazy and opened it. As usual, Kallen sent her a text message: _U no u cant have those in class._

C.C. smiled humorously, then texted back: _And what about texting in class? Lol_

Kallen sent a reply a few minutes later. This time the message was straight to the point. It read: _Plz try 2 get a good grade this time. I'd like us 2 hang out 2nite. There are some friends that I'd like u 2 meet._

C.C. had known that was coming. Kallen was a good friend and all, but if there was one thing C.C. was not very good with it was being around strangers. She wasn't much of a social girl to begin with. Whenever Kallen brought her to a party she'd turn into a wallflower because she wouldn't be very comfortable. She knew Kallen was trying to help her, but it didn't always work out. And Kallen didn't seem to take that into consideration when she asked her almost every weekend.

C.C. waited a few minutes to reply, not wanting to tell her friend off, so instead she got an idea of her own. In her text she replied: _Not really feeling like going out. Watch a movie instead?_

Lowering her head to hide her cell phone, C.C. waited for the reply to come, and it did a few seconds later. It read: _I suppose we could...which movie? Hope it aint another 1 of those princess films u love to death lol._

The heat rose in C.C.'s cheeks, and if she had been facing Kallen she would have seen the pouty face she normally made in these situations. Instead she had to use the next best thing. She sent her reply: __ Thnx 4 that, but I got a new film based on the book I am reading now. It's new as in came out yesterday, not even I have seen it yet._

Kallen quickly sent a reply: _Dont believe u for 1 bit. U read the book so in a sense U no what happens. But...sure, I can do it, let's just avoid getting in trouble, k?_

C.C.'s smile grew, and she sent her final reply: _Deal!_

The ending bell came not too long after that, and C.C. was at her locker, putting her books away for the weekend. Of course, it wasn't the whole weekend she was looking forward to, just tonight when she and Kallen would watch the movie she had been dying to see all day.

The movie was called _**Raven Knight**_, based on a popular fairy tale written by a famous author. It was about a girl from one kingdom who fell for this knight from another land. The girl was a maid treated rather cruelly by the lord of the castle. She always wished to be away from her harsh ruler, but could never escape on her own. Then...well, one day the knight came to the castle on errand from his king and the moment she laid eyes on him, the girl knew he was the one who could save her.

C.C. didn't know the rest of the story or even how it ended due to how slow she read, but that was okay. She always enjoyed her books at a somewhat slower pace than everyone else.

But her obsession with Raven Knight was apparent when you looked into her locker. She had various clips of magazine articles pertaining to the books, but there were also some artwork of the characters as well. Artwork of the Raven Knight himself.

Lelouch.

C.C. ran her fingers slowly over the one picture of Lelouch in the back of her locker. She could feel the textures of the picture but she felt she was actually touching him.

"Surprised we didn't get in trouble, you know, texting in class."

C.C. gasped and abruptly slammed her locker door shut, pinching her fingers in the process. She swore aloud and the surprised face of Kallen greeted her.

"You okay?" Kallen asked, putting the strap of her book bag over her shoulder.

Putting the sore tips of her fingers in her mouth in an attempt to numb the pain, C.C. nodded once, secretly hoping that her friend didn't see her locker. "You just scared me, that's all."

C.C. closed her locker door, locking it in the process. "So, we still on for tonight?"

Kallen's face went low, "That's what I came to talk to you about...I have a date. Tonight."

The news hit C.C. like a brick wall, "Really?"

"I was asked out by this one guy soon after class ended, he pushed me and I just blurted out the answer-"

Kallen's words fell on deaf ears, as she realized she had hurt her friend's feelings. C.C. took a step back, "Well...then you go enjoy your date then..."

Kallen put a hand out to her friend to stop her from running away, but all she grabbed was air. C.C. was already turning to run, she took off without looking back.

They say that there is a place where when one is feeling depressed or just need to get away from the world you have your own 'happy place'. To some this is a room that can be sealed off from the rest of society, to others it's a magical world in a book, or a place in their imagination. This escapism keeps the person from feeling worse.

For C.C. it was a combination of all three.

After running home after her friend dumped the plans she had been looking forward to doing that night, C.C. ran to her room, shut off the lights and turned on the black light that led to her wardrobe closet. Her father had gutted the room, intending to turn it into a closet for his little princess but when she got older C.C. had asked for the closet to be made into an art studio instead. So, she got a closet that was now the size of a garage. This was her happy place. Decorated with effects that made it look like it was from one of her books, fake plants on plaster castle walls, a wooden well that led to nowhere, and in the far corner of the room there were paintings of various creatures from fairytales, but the one C.C. was working on was one she had been doing for over three months, and it was nearing completion.

Holding a platter that had all the necessary colors she needed and dressed in her painting clothes, C.C. steadily brought her brush to its mark and colored in what she was painting. The background would be finished tonight, and then she'd have to touch up the foreground, but that wasn't as bad as many would think. In fact, it was her favorite part. Working on the characters was always the best part in her mind.

Using the illustrations from the books she read as reference points, C.C. tirelessly made each and every detail as perfect as she could. Her skills were superb, easily making her a great artist in school.

That is, if anyone knew about her talents. All the paintings she did never left the studio, she was afraid of what people would think of them. Not only that, but because she was afraid people would view her as obsessed with a world that doesn't exist. Not even Kallen knew of this.

C.C.'s disappointment from hours earlier, when Kallen bailed on their movie night to go out with a boy who asked her out was still smarting. C.C. didn't get over things like that easily, she hadn't since elementary school.

Setting her platter down on the table next to her painting, C.C. decided it was time to call it a night. She put all the necessary materials away and made it back to her bedroom. After a quick shower and dinner, she made it back to her bedroom. For the next hour she read more from the latest book in the Raven Knight series. The part where she was at was when the Knight was to whisk the princess, who was also his secret lover, of his kingdom away from the enemy troops. Take her away from all the terrible atrocities that was befalling her kingdom and keep her safe. The Knight would end up being successful, and the Princess, while losing one world, ended up being in a better one with the Knight by her side.

Once she finished the book, C.C. set it down on her bedside table, reciting a passage from the book as she did so. The passage was what the knight said to the princess just before they left the castle, and the kingdom behind. 'Take you away from all the tragedies that plague you. Remain by my side and be like two angels in paradise, eternity is all we have.' C.C. got out of her bed, walking over to her studio door. Painted on the wooden door was the entrance to a stone garden. Everything was as intricately detailed as any of her paintings. To her, this was not just a door to another room nor just a painting. It was a real entrance to a place she adored. Where she wished she could stay forever...

"Being alone would not work though..." she painfully admitted, walking over to her actual closet door that held all her school clothes. On the door was a portrait of a man she had painted not that long ago. A man clad in black armor from head to toe, but with a slot for the eyes showing. "You'd be there for me, I know you would," C.C. spoke softly, putting a hand on the helmet covered face of her secret crush. "I wish I could hear you say 'I would for the rest of eternity, I will be with you for the rest of our days.'" C.C. smiled, but she fought back the urge to cry, "Nobody here seems to care. Kallen certainly didn't care when she-" She stopped, "No...never mind her. I just want someone who can help me. Help me find where I belong. I don't belong here, not in this world at least."

She turned to walk back to her bed, she got under the covers but remained sitting up, taking one last glance at her closet door, into the eyes of the Raven Knight.

"'Raven Knight Lelouch, I wish for you to come to me. Make this lonely heart beat again with your love and devotion,'" C.C. finished her personal soliloquy, something she had made up herself and that didn't come from any book she read. She reached for her bedside lamp, turning it off, and she was now in complete darkness save for the moonlight coming in through her window.

As she closed her eyes, C.C. said one last thing, "Good night Lelouch." And she closed her eyes.

**To Be Continued...?**


	2. Chapter 2

First off, I want to say thank you for all the support that this story has gotten and I will continue it. Just let you know that this will only be about four or five chapters long, so hope you all like it!

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Kallen had tried to apologize once again to C.C. when they met up to walk to school. C.C. would hear none of it however, she was still upset with her friend and was in no mood to hear of her excuses.

"Trust me, C.C., I really am sorry. Suzaku was being a jerk and wouldn't let up."

C.C. stopped at her locker and put the combination into her padlock, her eyes narrowed, "So blowing me off to humor him was the first thing that came to your mind? How considerate of you." She pulled the door open, taking a quick glance at the small portrait of Lelouch that was looking back at her.

Kallen sighed, "So, you gonna be mad at me for the rest of the day, or the rest of your life?"

C.C. shook her head, "Nope, just for today. Since i have a lot of things on my mind other than your social problems." Giving a wink to her hero in her locker, C.C. closed the door and turned to Kallen. Honestly, even as upset as she was, C.C. wouldn't stay mad at Kallen. It'd wear off eventually.

"Well, how about this: after school we go and watch the movie you wanted to watch? I can put aside everything else if you want to," Kallen said hugging her books to her chest.

Nodding her head once, C.C. believed that was a better way of apologizing. "Sure. Right after school we'll watch it at my house." C.C. said as she walked towards her first class. "But please be there okay?"

Kallen raised her right hand, "Scout's honor." She smiled, giving C.C. back some of that happiness she lost the previous day.

Now she had something to look forward to that day.

*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Art class was over in a hurry for C.C. With what Kallen had promised her before class added to what was her favorite subject in the whole world, the whole two hour and thirty minutes went like a blur. She didn't even remember what she was supposed to do with the charcoal she had been handed, all she knew was that when she was handed the poster sized paper she started drawing. Even though she had paid little attention to what her teacher had told her she didn't get reprimanded when the teacher had seen her work.

The second block was rather slow because it was social studies, which was the one subject C.C. didn't like at all. How odd was it to have your favorite subject and least favorite subject in the same day, right after the other? Guess it only happened to people like C.C. At least Kallen was with her in this one, so it wasn't all a bummer, just ninety percent of it.

It was around lunch that the weather started to turn sour. First came the rain, then after a few minutes came the thunder and lightning. Because of that it seemed that the whole school went to a turtle's pace. The one thing that made it bearable was the fact that it was last block.

C.C. returned to her locker to drop off her unneeded school books and Kallen stopped to say hello before heading back to her seminar room. Study hall was the last block and while most of the student body complained about it, saying that they could just study at home, C.C. was grateful for it. This was because she'd be able to finish her school work at school and do her art at home virtually unimpeded.

The bell rang just as soon as C.C. made it to her seat in seminar. However, she forgot to grab her notebook. She gained permission to return to her locker and left.

The halls were empty and all the doors to the other rooms were closed. As C.C. was going to turn the corner to head to her locker, she stopped.

"Hey, I need to get back to class. Better hurry up and tell me what you wanted."

'Kallen...?' C.C. peeked around the corner and saw that Kallen was talking with a brown haired boy. She recognized him as Suzaku. He was the one that Kallen had gone out with the day before.

Suzaku had Kallen's back to the lockers, hands on both of her shoulders. Both of them were talking in low whispers to avoid being caught, but they didn't seem to notice C.C. hiding just down the hall.

"Kallen, listen to me. You blew me off last night and I'm asking why."

"I had other plans and because of you I had to make a friend get mad at me. So, I 'forgot' our date last night because of it."

Suzaku didn't look too pleased with that remark. "A friend? You 'forgot' our date so you could make it up to that girl?"

"Yeah. You have a problem with that?"

In a low whisper, Suzaku growled, "C.C. is a waste of time. All she does is go into those fantasy books and dawdles there because reality is too harsh for her."

"She is NOT a waste. Not in any sense of the word. She's my best friend, and I like hanging around with her. If you don't respect my choice in friends then we have nothing left to talk about," Kallen said, shoving Suzaku's hands aside so she could escape. She walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner.

Suzaku stood there in the middle of the hallway, while out of his sight was C.C. She didn't know if she should feel proud, or start to feel bad. Because while she was happy that Kallen was loyal to her, what Suzaku had said was true too.

'Reality is too harsh for her.'

Those words rang in her head endlessly as she returned to her seminar room, the reason she left there long forgotten.

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A/N: This is AU so please don't bludgeon me with how OOC the characters are, I thought people would like a different take on what Code Geass has to offer. Stay tuned for th enext chapter!


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